Angie Paccione, who has led the Colorado Department of Higher Education since 2019, is returning to the private sector, Gov. Jared Polis said.

Paccione’s last day is Jan. 9.

The governor’s office said Gov. Jared Polis would decide on the next executive director before she leaves.

In his announcement, Polis called Paccione an “incredible leader in higher education for Colorado, and her passion and expertise will be missed dearly.”

“Under her leadership, Colorado has made major progress in breaking down barriers to help more students from all backgrounds access the training and education needed to succeed and drive our economy forward,” he said. “Angie’s hard work and dedication has created a foundation that we will continue building on for learners and workers at all levels. While Angie’s shoes will be difficult to fill, we look forward to finding the next great leader to continue moving our state forward for higher education and training.”

In a statement, Paccione said that the work “has always been about activating the potential in every student.”

“Over the past seven years, we have expanded opportunity, strengthened workforce readiness, and unlocked personal fulfillment for Colorado’s learners,” she said.

The head of the department of higher education is the only cabinet position with job qualifications outlined in the statutes, which say the executive director shall be “qualified by substantial training and experience in the field of higher education.”

This isn’t only about the college degree – the expectation that stems from the statute’s origins is that the executive director hold administrative experience in higher education, which is useful when navigating the state’s 26 public colleges and universities and their governing boards.

Few governors in the past quarter-century have followed that statute. Gov. John Hickenlooper was the first since Gov. Roy Romer picked Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia, who had that administrative experience.

Paccione is the second-longest serving executive director of the department, following the department’s first director, Frank Abbott, who held the post from 1965 to 1976, when the Colorado Commission on Higher Education was first formed.

Paccione served two terms in the Colorado House, from 2003 to 2007, representing District 53 in Fort Collins. In the 2006 election, she ran for the 4th Congressional District but lost to two-term U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave.

A native of New York City, Paccione was a standout high school basketball player, named to the 1977 USA Women’s Select National Team and to Parade Magazine‘s First All-American Team.

After earning a degree in political science from Stanford, Paccione played professional basketball with the Columbus Minks of the Women’s American Basketball Association, which folded after one season in 1984.

Paccione moved to Colorado in 1985, worked at a residential treatment center for two years, and earned her teaching license from the University of Denver. She was awarded the Future Teacher Award by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.

She went on to become a high school teacher, coach and administrator at Smoky Hill High School in the Cherry Creek School District before earning a doctorate in education and human resource studies from Colorado State University (CSU). She was on the CSU faculty for nine years as a teacher educator in the “Project Promise” program. She conducted research in the teacher education field.